Just ordered their introductory dvd, want to take my hobby a little further, anyone have experience with these guys and their dvd and study courses?

Wasper

February 20, 2011, 01:00 PM

Scroll down to page 2 of this forum to a thread titled "Thinking of getting into gunsmithing." See my post in that thread about the AGI course.

ekgandj

February 20, 2011, 02:25 PM

I will tell you I have seen a couple of their videos, specifically on the 1911 and I was not impressed. Very old and just not enough close up of the actual work being done. They do have some good advice on how to do stuff just don't let you actually see the before and details of how to get it there. Waste of money IMO.

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phydaux

February 21, 2011, 02:23 AM

Recently I was seriously considering their course. Three things stopped me:

1) The full course is ~$10,000. Yeah, they have stepping stone levels, and you could try doing it piecemeal. But to get everything you really want & need, it's around $10,000.

2) And that's just the videos. Without another $10,000 in firearms to work on you won't actually learn anything. Seriously, $10,000. I made a list - AK parts kits, AR parts kits, 1911 parts kits, Glock parts kits, a bunch of other stuff.

3) That's a $20,000 investment so you can putter around your garrage and maybe make $100-$200 a week working nights & weekends. Maybe you can afford to drop $20,000 on a hobby. Some people can. I wish I could, but I can't.

Seriously, I ran the numbers every way I could think of. This isn't a knock on AGI. The stuff of theirs that I saw was decent. But to do it as anything other than a hobby just isn't realistic (unless there's a 'smith in your area willing to take you in).

So if you've got a big pile of money, and your only options are either set it all on fire or spend it on becoming a gunsmith, then go for it. If you're thinking of making it a career then give it a lot of thought.

Scorch

February 21, 2011, 12:57 PM

Bob Dunlap is one of the best gunsmithing instructors you could hope to have, he set up and established the gunsmithing program at Lassen CC in Susanville, CA, recognized as one of the top 3 in the country. That said, there is something lacking in video training. You cannot learn to work on guns without mentoring and hands-on training, and you cannot learn without the firearms to repair. My advice is the same for anyone who wants to be a gunsmith: enroll in a college trades program, then work with a smith who is able and willing to teach you the ropes.